( SCHOOL-ROOM CLASSICS. IV 



THE ART 



OF 



Securing Attention. 

BY 
JOSHUA G. FITCH, M. A. 



SYRACUSE, K Y. : 
Davis, Bardeen & Co., Publishers, 

1880. 

Copyright, 1880, by C. W. Bardeen. 



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SCHOOL-ROOM CLASSICS. IV. 



THE ART 



OF 



Securing Attention. 



BY 
JOSHUA G. FITCH, M. A. 



| 



ifUiJ 



SYRACUSE, X. Y.: 
Davis, Bardeen & Co., Publishers,. 

1880. 

Copyright, 1880, by (J. W. Bardeen. 



v^ 






Tut: following paper contains the substance of a 
lecture delivered to training classses established in 
connection with the British Sunday-School Union. 
In editing it for this series of educational publica- 
tions, I have omitted such portions as pertain 
exclusively to the work of mission Sunday-schools, 
and were unessential to the continuity and com- 
pleteness of the work as a valuable manual for 
public-school teachers. 

C. W. BARDEEN, 

Syracuse, April 9, 1880. 



THE 



^T OF J3eCUF([NQ ^TTE^TIOjM 



By attention I mean fixity of thought, the concen- 
tration of the whole mind upon one subject at a 
time ; that effort of will by which we are enabled to 
follow what we hear or read, without wandering, 
without weariness, and without losing any particle 
of the meaning intended to be conveyed. 

I do not doubt that to many of you the thought 
occurs, " This, indeed, is the one thing which I most 
want. If I could only secure attention, what an 
admirable teacher I should be ! How happy I should 
be in my work! How much success and usefulness 
would follow my efforts!" Now. this is a very 
natural reflection ; but it will be my object to prove 
to you that it is not a very sound one ; and that at- 
tention must not be looked upon as the condition of 
our being good teachers ; but rather as the result of 
our being so. 

Let us first of all acknowledge to ourselves, that 
attention, such as we want to set from children, is a 



6 THE ABT OF 

very hard thing to give. You and I, even when we 
have the strongest sense of duty urging us to attend 
to a subject, often find that it is next to impossible 
to chain our thoughts resolutely down to it. The 
memory of yesterday's business, the prospect of to- 
morrow's pleasure, will intrude upon us in spite of 
all our efforts. We constantly lose the thread of 
argument, even in a book that interests us; the eye 
glances down the page, but the thoughts do not fol- 
low it, and we arc compelled to go back again, and 
make a renewed effort to keep our wayward minds 
in harness. You know how often this is true ; 
whether you listen to a sermon or a lecture, or read 
a book. It is true even when you most desire to 
rcsivf the temptation. How much more is the diffi- 
culty likely to be felt by little children, who are con- 
stitutionally more restless than we are; whose moral 
natures are but partially developed ; and who have, 
at present, no strong sense of duty to chide them into 
silence or awe them into attention. 

And let us confess to ourselves, also, that we are 
accustomed to make very heavy demands upon a 
child's faculty of attention. We expect him to listen 
to teaching from nine o'clock until twelve; then 
brief interval to compose himself into stillness 
and attention again, often giving him instruction, 



SECURING ATTENTION. 7 

the greater part of which is above his comprehension, 
and adapted to eases and experiences very different 
from his own. He is naturally very inquisitive 
about tilings that immediately surround him; lie is 

curious to learn about the sun, and the moon, 
and the stars; about distant countries: about the 
manners of foreigners ; about birds and beasts and 
fishes; nay, even about machines, and many other 
human inventions; but he is not prepared at first 
to perceive that the knowledge which you im- 
part is related to his daily life. You do not 
find the appetite for such knowledge already exist- 
ing. You have to create it ; and until you have 
created it, he cannot give you the fixed and earnest 
attention you want, without an effort which is posi- 
tively painful to him. 

I think it important at the outset that we should 
be aware of these tw 7 o simple facts : first, that fixed 
attention is a hard thing for anybody to give; and, 
second, that fixed attention to prescribed subjects is 
especially a hard thing for children to give. When 
we have fairly taken these facts into account we 
shall be better prepared to avail ourselves of any 
counsel which may enable us to secure attention. 
It is always a great step toward the removal of a 



8 THE ART OP 

difficulty, to know that there is a difficulty and that 
ii needs to be. removed. 

For you know, however hard ii may he to gain 
attention, we r&ust get it if we are to do any good at 
all in school. It is of no use there to tell children 
things which go no deeper than the surface of their 
minds, and which will he swept away to make room 
for the first trifling matter which claims admission 
there. If children are really to be the better for 
what we teach, if the truths which we love so well 
are really to go deep fnto their consciences, and be- 
come the guiding principles of their lives, it is no 
half-hearted, languid attention which will serve our 
purpose. We are not dealing with facts which will 
bear to be received and then forgotten; hut with 
truths which, if they have any significance, and. if 
they have any practical value to a child at all. must 
be not only received hy his understanding, hut 
lodged securely in his memory, and made to tell 
upon the formation of his character for this world 
and the next. 

Let me tell you firsl how you will not get atten- 
tion. Von will not gel it by claiming it, by demand- 
ing it as a right, or by entreating il a- a favor; by 
urging upon your pupils the importance of the sub- 
ject, the kindness of their teachers, or the important 



SECURING ATTENTION. 9 

character of the truths you have to impart. All 
these are very legitimate arguments to use to older 
people. You and I, we may hope, feel their force. 
The sense of these things keeps us thoughtful and 
silent many a time, perhaps, when we are hearing a 
dull or unintelligible address. We feel we ought to 
be attentive,- and so we make an effort to be so. 
George Herbert argues that if the preacher's discourse 
entirely lacks interest, we must consider that 
"God takes a text, and preacheth patience." 
This is a very valid argument to us, no doubt, but 
it is no argument to a child. Nothing in the long 
run (except fear, which I know you would feel to be 
a very unsatisfactory motive) can keep a child's 
attention fixed, but a sense of real interest in the 
thing you are saying. It is necessary that he should 
feel that the subject claims attention for itself, not 
that you are claiming attention for the subject. 
Depend upon it, that attention got by threats, by 
authority, or even by promises, or indeed by any 
external means whatever, is not a genuine or effective 
thing. The real attention, such as alone can serve 
the purpose of a teacher, must always be founded 
on the facts that you have got something to say 
which is worth a child's hearing, and that you can 



10 THE ART OF 

say it iii such a manner that he shall feel it to be 
worth hearing. 

And of course the first condition to be fulfilled, iu 
order to secure this, is, that the teacher's own mind 
shall be accurately and abundantly prepared on the 
subject which he has to teach. It seems a trite 
thing, to say to teachers that they should prepare 
their lessons. Few of my readers, I hope, need to 
be reminded of their duty in this respect. But I 
doubt whether many of us see the importance of pre- 
paration in its true light. Observe, I said a teacher 
should tic accurately prepared. By this I mean, that 
there should be no vagueness or indistinctness in his 
mind about what he is going to teach. He should 
not rely on a general impression that he comprehends 
the subject. He must have details— facts which he 
knows how to state with exactness; and a degree of 
nic<ty and precision about his knowledge far greater 
than he can ever hope to impart to the children. Again, 
I said lie should lie ,ihn ndantly prepared. This 
means that he should store his mind beforehand, nol 
rnen-ly with what he means to impart, but with a 
great deal more. He does not know what topic may 
grow out of the lesson ; lie cannot tell what questions 
the children may ask, nor what illustrations he may 
find most effective. So he should provide himself at 



SECURING! ATTENTION. 11 

all points. He should look <<t the lesson and into the 

lesson, and all round the lesson, before he gives it; 
gathering together in his mind all that can possibly 
throw light upon it, and become useful in his 
teaching. 

There is another reason for attaching great impor- 
tance to abundant preparation. No man can ever 
teach all he knows on any subject. 1 doubt, indeed, 
whether he can teach half of what he knows. If 
you would be a good teacher, therefore, up to a cer- 
tain point, you yourself should have gone far beyond 
that point. We must look at any fact we want to 
teach from very different, and perhaps distant points 
of view, in order to comprehend its true relation to 
other facts. If any teacher just gets up a lesson from 
printed notes, and is only barely provided with the 
knowledge actually required for his class, he is sure 
to fail, both in securing attention and in getting the 
subject understood. Children will always carry 
away with them far less than you bring. Make up 
your mind at once to the fact, that a large discount 
or percentage of even a successful lesson is always 
lost in the very act of communicating it. Therefore, 
if you wish children to receive a given amount of 
instruction you must be provided with a great deal 
more. I always notice when a man is teaching, that 



12 THE A.KT OF 

the moment he gets within sight of the horizon, and 
feels that he is approaching the limits of his own 
knowledge, he falters; he becomes embarrassed; he 
Loses confidence in himself; the children soon detect 
his weakness, and the lesson loses interest immedi- 
ately. Xow the practical inference from this is, get 
all the subsidiaiy and illustrative information you 
can possibly accumulate about your lesson before 
you give it. Anecdotes, definitions of hard words, 
illustrations of eastern life* verses of poetry, parallel 
texts and allusions, may or may not be needed in 
the lesson; but at any rate, they certainly wiU be 
needed by yourself, to give due life and vigor to 
your teaching, and to make 3-011 feel a confidence in 
your own resources. 

But the preparation required cannot all be obtain- 
ed from books. Valuable as book knowledge is, it 
is not the only knowledge, and it is certainly not all 
a teacher wants. His preparation must be going on 
in the world as well as in his study, lie must 
watch the incidents of every day. and sec whal use 
he can make of them in his class. If he has an open 
eye, and that ••loving heart" which a great writer 
has called the beginning of all knowledge, he will be 
able to learn a greal deal by observation respecting 
the nature of childhood, ii> dangers, ii- wants, and 



SECUBING ATTENTION. IS 

the peculiar teaching which is best suited for it. 
He will constantly be watching incidents and events, 
and treasure up as much of them as can be brought 
to bear upon his scholars, or is likely to convey in- 
struction to them. I am afraid some of us do not 
think enough of this. Why, there is not a circum- 
stance that happens to any one of us, not an incident 
in our daily life, public or private, not a success or 
a failure, a misfortune or a blessing, which has not 
its own special significance, and is not meant to teach 
us some useful lesson. If we only had eyes to see 
and hearts to receive it, we should perceive that the 
history of each day's experience, even of the hum- 
blest of us, every one of the shifting phenomena of 
our daily life, illustrates some great moral and spirit- 
ual truth which underlies it, and is meant to be rec- 
ognized and understood by us. Do we husband 
the experiences of every day ? Do we watch the 
lessons it teaches, the warnings that it brings, and 
do we try to bring it to bear upon our teaching? If 
we do not we lose a great opportunity of usefulness, 
and throw away one of the main securities for ob- 
taining attention. 

For, after all, one of the first requisites in good 
teaching is, that it shall address itself to the actual 
experience and necessities of the learner, and not to 



14 THE ART OF 

any imaginary experience or necessities. We can- 
not fulfill this condition unless we make it our busi- 
ness to know what are the real dangers and tempta- 
tions, the weaknesses and the wants, of the children 
whom we have to teach. I took a little child to 
church with me the other day. and her remark on 
coming" out was, "I don't understand that preacher, 
he doesn't talk like gentlemen in rooms."' Now I do 
not suppose that public service can ever, in the nature 
of things, he otherwise than strange and unintelli- 
gible to children: but I am sure that the more 
teachers talk like "gentlemen in rooms," the better. 
[f there i- anything unfamiliar, or artificial, or ser- 
monizing in your language or even in your tone; 
if your illustrations are bookish and unpractical; if 
the virtue- and the vices you talk about are not the 
actual virtues which it is possible for them to prac- 
tise, and i he actual vices into which they are likely 
to fall; if in any way you shool above their heads, 
or betray a want of familiarity with the real lives 
which children lead, your class will cease to feel any 
interest in what you say. 

We may safely say. 1 think, that ample and ac 

curate knowledge of the subject, and skill in apply- 
ing it to the case of children, will in every case give 

the teacher a right to be heard, and will enable him 



SECU«ING ATTENTION. 15 

therefore, without difficulty, to gain the car of his 
class. But suppose attention is once gained in this 
way, \vc still have to inquire how it may be kept 
up. 

First, let me mention one or two merely mechan- 
ical devices for maintaining attention. Of course, 
these are not the highest, but they are sometimes 
useful nevertheless. For instance, children need 
changt of posture. The restlessness which we often 
complain of in children is not a fault ; it is a consti- 
tutional necessity. It is positively painful to them 
to remain in one attitude long. We ought to be 
aware of this; and occasionally, when attention 
seems to flag, let the whole class stand fur a short 
time, or go through some simple exercise which re- 
quires movement. You will often find that in this 
way your class will be refreshed. When the body 
has had its lawful claims recognized, the mind will 
be more at leisure to devote itself to the lessons; the 
sense of weariness will disappear, and the work of 
teaching proceed with more cheerfulness. I have 
often seen teachers and children remain sitting 
during the whole of a long summer afternoon, and 
the teacher wondering at the listlessness of his class. 
But I see nothing to wonder at. Indeed, for myself, 
I know I cannot teach with vigor and spirit for long 



16 THE ART OF 

together while I am sitting down ; and it is hard to 
expect children to be better in this respect than my- 
self. Dullness and lassitude begin to creep over the 
mind, and I confess I like to see a teacher stand up, 
now and then, and throw a little life into his lesson, 
as well as occasionally cause his scholars to stand 
up too. 

In a small class, also, attention may very often be 
sustained by causing the children to answer strictly 
in turn ; by making them take places, and by record- 
ing the number of times the same boy gets to the 
top. The little emulation promoted by this plan is 
favorable to mental activity, and often prevents a 
a lesson from becoming dull. It requires to be rather 
skilfully managed, and needs a good disciplinarian 
t<> conduct it; but I have seen the plan used with 
very great success, and excite great interest on the 
part of the children. It is particularly useful in 
testing the result of your teaching by questions at 
the end of each division of the subject, as it applies 
the test with perfect fairness and uniformity to every 
child in the class. 

What is called simultaneous reacting may also prove 
a greal help in maintaining the interest and attention, 
especially of a younger class. Of course it must not 



SECURING ATTENTION. 17 

be practised in a crowded school-room, when the 
noise would disturb other classes, unless you have 
tutored your class to read in a quiet and subdued 
tone, (which is a great point in education, and quite 
worth taking some trouble to obtain.) But if it can 
be adopted, the plan will occasionally relieve a les- 
son very much. It is always interesting to children 
to do something in concert ; and if the teacher has a 
sharp eye and a quick ear, he can easily secure that 
every child shall be thoroughly wakeful and atten- 
tive. The exercises may often be well varied in this 
way. The teacher reads a passage slowly, and with 
correct tone and emphasis, alone : he then reads it a 
second time, the class joining with him, and reading 
in unison. He then asks them to lie silent, and to 
keep their eyes fixed on the book while he reads, and 
to supply any word which he leaves out. Then he 
reads the passage, pausing frequently, and omitting 
a word to be supplied by the children. Lastly, he 
calls upon one and another separately to read the 
same passage. The plan of elliptical reading is one 
of the best I know to stimulate watchfulness and fixed 
attention on the part of the children. I have seen 
fifty little ones together, their eyes fixed intently on 
the book, all eager to pronounce the word omitted 
by the teacher at exactly the right moment. 



18 Till-: ART OF 

There is an indirect method of questioning, too, 
very familiar to you all; which is founded on the 
same principle, and may serve a useful purpose in 
sustaining attention. I mean the use of ellipses, as 
they are called. The teacher, instead of finishing- the 
sentence himself, pauses suddenly, and requires the 
children to finish it for him. Good teachers, especi- 
ally those of infant schools, have long been accus- 
tomed to use this method, and have found it very 
efficacious. Only it must be remembered that it is a 
device which wants very skillful management. The 
wordlefl out of the sentence, which the children are 
expected to supply, should be one which they ought 
to remember, and it should also, in every case, be a 
definite word. There should be no vagueness in the 
teacher's own mind as to what he expects; there 
should be one way. and only one way. in which 
the sentence can be properly finished. The word 
required, moreover, should be one which it requires 
a little effort to recollect; it should not be the mere 
echo of the word just uttered. And it is just as 
necessary in the use of ellipses as in the practice of 
questioning, to lake care that there is no guessing, 
and no merely mechanical utterance of a word to 
which the child attaches no meaning. The ellipti- 
cal method is an admirable device for keeping up the 



SIX THING ATTENTION. 19 

attention, especially of little children; bul il can 
never he made a substitute for good questioning, for 
the simple reason that it only demands a single word, 
and can never enable you to be sure that the learner 
understands the whole sentence of which the word 
forms a part. 

Again, one of the greatest safeguards for the atten- 
tion of the class is the cultivation on the teacher's 
part of quickness of (i/i- and ear. It is surprising 
sometimes to see teachers addressing themselves to 
one part of their class, and apparently unconscious 
that another part is listless and uninterested. They 
seem incapable of taking in the whole class at one 
glance. Their eyes move slowly, and they either do 
not see the disorder and trifling which lurks in the 
•corner of their class, or they do not care to notice 
what it would give them some little trouble to rem- 
edy. A person of this kind will never keep up atten- 
tion, nor prove a successful teacher, however well 
he may lie provided with knowledge, and however 
anxious he may be' to do good. 

What every good teacher greatly needs i> a quick 
eye and a comprehensive glance, which will take in 
the whole class at one view, or travel instantly from 
one part of it to the other. He should be able to 
detect the first rising of disorder, and the first symp- 



20 THE ART OF 

toms of weariness, in an instant, and to apply a 
remedy to it the next instant. It is from want of 
promptitude in noticing the little beginnings of inat- 
tention that our classes so often get disorderly and 
tired. I recommend every one who wants to be a 
good teacher, therefore, to cultivate in himself the 
habit of sharpness and watchfulness. IJe should so 
train himself that he shall become peculiarly sensi- 
tive about the little signs of inattention. It ought to 
make him uncomfortable to see one child's eye 
averted, or one proof, however small, that the 
thoughts of the class are straying from the subject. 
The surest way to increase inattention is to seem 
unconscious of it, or allow it to pass unnoticed. I 
would have every teacher here ask himself these 
questions: "Can I s< e the whole of my class? Do I 
stand or sit so that the slightest movement or whis- 
per on the part of any single child will be apparent 
to me in a moment? Do the children all know, that 
whatever happens I am sure to notice it? Do I allow 
myself to remain at ease during inattention? Have 
I got used to it by long practice, and become 
reconciled to it? ( )r does it pain me to discover even 
a slight proof of it? Do I, in short, make it a prac- 
tice never to go on with my lessons until I have 
recovered attention?"' Unless you can answer these 



SECUBTNG ATTENTION. 21 

questions satisfactorily, you will always be plagued 
with inattention. For among the minor character- 
istics of a successful teacher, few things are so im- 
portant as alacrity of movement; promptitude and 
readiness both in seeing and hearing; skill in rinding 
out, at a moment's notice, who is the idlest boy in 
the class, and in giving him a question, or giving 
him a verse to read, or making him stand up at once, 
before h s mind becomes thoroughly alienated from 
the subject, and before the contagion of his example 
has had time to spread among the rest. A sluggish, 
heavy, inactive looking teacher can never gain the 
sympathy of children, or keep up their attention 
long. 

I have called these mechanical meflbods of sustain- 
ing attention, because no one of them has anything 
to do with the matter of teaching, or with the treat- 
ment of the subject; but they are simply external, 
and subordinate contrivances for keeping the atten- 
tion of a class from nagging. Of course no one 
needs, especially in a class of elder children, to adopt 
all these methods at once and the better a teacher is, 
the better able lie will be to do without some of them; 
but we all need to keep them in mind sometimes. 
And I want, before I pass on to the more important 
part of the subject, just to remind you that all I have 



22 THE ART OF 

said on this point is founded on two principles: first, 

that the nature of childhood, its physical weakness. 
above all, its restlessness and need for change, should 
be fairly taken into account and provided for by a 
teacher, and not set down as faults, or frowned down 
by authority; and. secondly, that even' child under 
a teacher's care should always feel that there is 
something for him to do. Continual employment is 
the great antidote to inattention. I think that if 
you will keep these principles in view, you will be 
induced to invent many expedients for keeping up 
the vivacity and interest of a class besides those 
which I have named. 

Closely allied to what I have called mechanical 
methods, is one which, however, needs some intel- 
ligence to put it in operation. I mean the practice 
of recapitulation, by dilligent and thorough interro- 
gation, not only at the end of the whole lesson, but 
also at the ''lid of each separate division of it. This 
is of great importance in sustaining the interest of a 
class. Children are not likely to take much pains 
in receiving and remembering a lesson, unless they 
know that their memory is sure to be tested; and 
that, however many facts or truths you teach, you 
are sure to wish to hear of them again. Every lesson 
should be planned out in the teacher's own mind SO 



SECURING ATTENTION. 23 

as to consist of two or three distinct portions. I do 
not mean that he should talk about "firstly, secondly, 
and thirdly'* to his class, or make any needless dis- 
play of the skeleton or framework of his lesson; hut 
a clear logical division of the subject into two or 
three portions is indispensable to the teacher himself; 
and at the end of each of these he should go over 
the ground thoroughly, and challenge the ch ldren 
to give him back all he has taught, When hoys 
become habituated to this they learn to expect it as a 
matter of course, and are therefore induced to pre- 
pare for it by much closer attention than would 
otherwise seem necessary to them. 1 always made 
it a practice, in my own class, not only to recapitu- 
late the lesson just taught, but also to spend the first 
ten minutes in giving a few questions on preceding 
lessons. I kept a record of those who answered best, 
and rewarded them by an extra mark or ticket. 
With elder boys, also, I always required the sub- 
stance of last lesson to be written down on paper, 
and brought to me. One consequence of this was, 
that some of the boys kept note books with them, 
ami at any rate far closer attention was paid to my 
teaching than before. Of course, this plan involves 
the necessity of some system and method, and of 
*some little trouble too ; for all the papers require to 



24 THE AKT OF 

be tak n home and read by the teacher. But of one 
thing we may be sure: no one of us, child or man, 
ever takes pains to grasp a subject, or fasten it in our 
memories, unless we expect in some way to find a 
use for it hereafter. So, if we wish to get a real 
effort of attention from children, we must do it by 
leading them to expect that their knowledge will be 
asked for again, by showing them that when Ave 
have once taught a thing we do n t forget it, but 
arc sure to return to it; it may be half an hour hence, 
or it may be a week hence, but at any rate certainly 
and systematically. 

One of the most efficient means of kindling the 
interest and chaining the attention of children, is the 
power of using good and striking illustrations. The 
best teachers are always those who, in addition to a 
knowledge of their subject, and the other qualifica- 
tions which are necessary, possess also what may be 
called pictorial power. By this I mean the power of 
describing scenes and incidents so that they -hall 
appear to a child's imagination as if they were really 
present to him. Now, we must always remember 
that the imagination is a very active faculty in a 
child. It is developed far earlier, in the life of all 
of us, than the judgment and those reasoning pow- 
ers which we are generally so anxious to cultivate, 



SECURING ATTENTION. 30 

Every teacher therefore, should know how to address 
himself to this faculty, and should be able to gratify 
that love of description which is so natural to a child. 
Now, how many of us arc there 1 should like to 
know, who can tell a story well, or who can so de- 
scribe a thing which we have seen that those who 
hear our description shall think they can almost see 
it too? Yet a man is never a perfect teacher until he 
can do this; and no appeals to the reason and con- 
science, and the feelings of a child, wdl he so effec- 
tive as they might be unless Ave can' also appeal to 
his imagination. Need i remind you how constantly 
this is recognized in the word of God;- how continu- 
ally the Bible writers, and especially the great 
Teacher himself, condescended to the weakness of 
man in this respect, and addressed their teachings 
not to the understanding directly, hut indirectly, 
through the medium of the senses and the imagina 
tion. What else is the meaning of our Lord's para- 
bles? What else are those glowing Eastern Meta- 
phors, sparkling like rich gems over the whole 
surface of the Bible, but helps to the comprehension 
of great truths, optical instruments, so to speak, 
through which our dim eyes might behold doctrines 
and principles, and deep lessons, which otherwise 
thev could not have perceived? Now. it is almost 



20 THE ART OF 

unnecessary to say much as to the power of exciting 
attention which a teacher possesses who is able to 
use good illustrations. We all know what an advan- 
tage such a teacher has over others. We have all 
observed, when a scene is picturesquely described, 
or a striking illustration brought forward, or a story 
told, how the fac s of the children have lighted up 
with interest, and their eves have been fixed upon 
the speaker. But. perhaps, while we all acknowl- 
edge the attractiveness of pictorial teaching, wehave 
not all duly considered its usefulness, nor the rea- 
sons which give it its peculiar force and value. Let 
us look for a moment at an example or two. When 
we read in the Psalms the word . "The Lord God is 
a sun and shield." we know, and every child knows, 
that the words are not literally true, but must be 
thought of a little before they can be understood. 
So we say to ourselves, ■"What does this mean? The 
sun is the great source of light and cheerfulness; and 
a shield is something with which soldiers defend 
themselves in battle. Therefore, this must mean 
that God's presence and favor make a man glad and 
happy, and al the same time shelter him from .dan- 
ger." Suppose all this has passed through our 
iiiimU. we have got the knowledge of a great truth 
in a somewhal indirect way. it is true: but we are far 



SECURING ATTENTION. 27 

more likely to be impressed by it, and to remember 
it, than if the literal fact bad been conveyed to us in 
plain language. And why so? Because we have 
bad a share in finding out the truth for ourselves;. 
because the mind was not called upon passively to 
receive a truth in the form of direct statement, but 
to exert itself a little, first in interpreting a metaphor, 
and. secondly, in drawing a conclusion from it, We 
are always far more interested by what we have had 
a hand in winning for ourselves, than by what is 
merely communicated to us as a favor, or enforced 
on us by authority. Which of us has not a deeper 
feeling of the Saviour's tenderness and compassion, 
after reading the parable of the Good Shepherd, 
than we could ever have had otherwise? When we 
read, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the 
righteous runneth into it, and are safe;" or. "As the 
mountains are about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round 
about his people;" "As the hart panteth after the 
water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God ;" 
or, when we come upon that glorious description, in 
the Apocalypse, of "a city which "hath no need of 
the sun. neither of the moon to shine in it, for the 
Lord God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof,*' we are conscious that, over and above the 
value of the truths thus imparted, we receive a cer- 



28 THE ART OF 

tain gratification from the form in which the truth 
is presented, and are pleased to have had something- 
given us which we have been able to interpret for 
ourselves. 

Consider, again, in regard to the lessons which lie 
hid in allegories and stories, that we often receive 
them far more effectively into our minds for the 
very reason that they are indirect, and do not at 
first seem to apply to ourselves. If we obtrude our 
moral teaching too early, or if we begin by telling 
the children that we hope they will learn a useful 
lesson from what we are going to say. children 
fancy that we are preaching, and are perhaps indis- 
posed to listen. But if we take care that the relig- 
ious truth, or the rule of conduct, which we wish to 
enforce, seems spontaneously to grow out of the 
lesson, and keeps its place as an inference to be 
gathered from the story we are telling, it is far 
more likely to be efficacious. When Nathan was 
commissioned to reprove David, you know that if 
he had gone at once, and taxed him with the 
offence, and said. " You have committed a great 
sin, end I have come to rebuke you.' - David would 
probably have been prepared with -Mine answer. 
Thai was a form of accusation which he very likely 
anticipated, and we do not doubt he had so armed 



SECURING ATTENTION. 29 

himself with pleas of self justification, and so skill- 
fully "manage.d" his conscience, that the charge 
would scarcely have impressed him at all. But 
instead of this, the prophet began to tell him a 
narrative: " There were two men in one city, the 
one rich, and the other poor." He went on further, 
as you know, detailing the various incidents of his 
story, until "David's anger was greatly kindled 
against the man." and he exclaimed, "As the Lord 
liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall 
surely die." Not till the solemn words. "Thou art 
the man! " had been uttered in his hearing, did the 
conviction come thoroughly home to his heart that 
he was really guilty. Now, why was it that 
Nathan's method was so effective? Because David 
had listened with interest so the story without sup- 
posing that it concerned him. His Judgment was 
clear and unbiased, and he came to the right con- 
clusion before he perceived that the conclusion ap- 
plied to himself. How much deeper and more per- 
manent was the impression thus made than if the 
prophet had confined himself to a plain literal exam- 
ination of the right and wrong of David's own case. 
And we may see the same thing illustrated in our 
Lord's parables constantly, that they are not only 
chain the attention of the listner by their pictorial 



30 THE ART OF 

character, but the}' set him thinking for himself, 
and drawing inferences about truths of the highest 
value almost without being aware of it. The most 
effective lessons which cuter the human heart are 
not those which take the form of lessons. It is when 
we are least conscious of the process by which we 
are impressed that we are impressed most deeply. 
And it is for this reason, if for no other, that the 
indirect teaching which is wrapped up in stories 
and metaphors often secures n ore attention than 
teaching of a more direct and didactic kind. 

But it is very likely that some of you may be 
disposed to answer, "Yes, I know that teaching, 
when well illustrated by stories and parables, is far 
more interesting to children than if it is full of dry 
statements: but then the power to choose Mich illus- 
trations wisely, and to make a good use of them, is, 
after all, a very rare power, and a very difficult one 
to acquire. I do not possess it, and I do not know 
how to get it. Besides the creative genius which 
can invent skilful illustrations is a special gift, It 
is rather the attribute of a poet than a teacher. I 
must learn to do without it." 

Now, 1 cannot help sympathizing with any one 
who speaks thus, but I should like to encourage hi in 
a little, nevertheless. We may all mend ourselves a 



SECURING ATTENTION. 81 

great deal in this respect it' we try. Suppose we en- 
deavor to remember carefully tilings which we have 
seen, and to describe them afterward. Suppose we 
practise ourselves a little more than we do in the art 
of telling a story. Suppose, when we have read of 
a circumstance, or met with one which has inter- 
ested us, we sit down and try to reproduce it in our 
own language in writing. Suppose we watch care- 
fully the sort of illustration and metaphor which ex- 
cites our own attention, and then carefully husband 
it in our memories, with a view to making use of it 
in our classes. Suppose, when we are going to give a 
lesson on some Bible narrative, v. e study all its details 
and all its surrounding circumstances so well, that we 
can almost realize the picture of it ourselves. Sup 
pose, in short, we alway keep in view the necessity 
of rendering, our teaching more vivid, and are al- 
ways on the watch for material by which it may be 
made more so, I believe that we shall make a step in 
the right direction at least. Any man whose heart 
is in his work may do all this, and may become a 
very interesting teacher without being a poet, and 
without possessing any peculiar natural gifts. If 
you go to the sea-side, and hear the rolling of the 
waves, or if you stand on a hill in view of some fair 
landscape, which the summer sun lights up with 



32 THE ART OF 

unusual glory, try to retain your impressions, and 
see how far you are able to convey the picture of the 
scene to others. If you want to gave a lesson on St. 
Paul's preaching at Athens, try to rind out what it 
was that the apostle could see as he stood on Mars 
Hill, with the temples of Minerva and of- Theseus 
near him; with an eager inquisitive crowd throng- 
ing round his feet: with the altar, and its myste- 
rious inscription, " To fhe unknown God," just in 
sight; and with the blue waters of the Pirams 
spreading out beyond. And if you will do this; 
and if, meanwhile, you take care that your love 
of illustration never betrays you into levity or 
trifling; that you never tell stories for the sake of 
telling stories, but always for the sake of some valua 
ble lesson which the story illustrates, I cannot doubt 
that, by God's blessing, you will become possessed, 
not only of one of the best Instruments for keeping 
up the attention of little children, but also of a key 
which will unlock their heart. 

Another hint, which it seems to me is sometimes 
needed most by those who arc the best teachers, is 
this: Do not get into a stt reotypt d matin, method of 
giving lessons. You will often, at conventions, hear 
a good model lesson: you will admire its style and 
it- method; you will think it, perhaps, the best les- 



SECURING ATTENTION. ., 33 

son you ever heard. But do not suppose that is a 
reason for imitating its method precisely, and for 
casting all your lessons into the same mould. Dif- 
ferent subjects admit of and require greal diversity 
of treatment; and even if they did not, it would still 
he necessary to vary your mode of teaching con 
stantly, for the sake of sustaining and keeping alive 
the interest of your class. 

Illustration, such as I have spoken of jusl now. 
is not always equally desirable ; the lesson will not 
always fall into the same number of divisions; ques- 
tions must not always be given in the same propor- 
tion, or at the same times. Almost every lesson 
does in fact demand a different treatment: and though 
there may be some one course which, on the whole, 
we have reason to prefer, we should not confine our- 
selves to it, but look into the nature of each subject 
when we are preparing it, and determine what is the 
best form in which it is likely to present itself to the 
mind. Besides, the method which is best for one 
teacher is not always the best for another; and no* 
teacher is worth much who does not exercise a little 
originalty and independence in the construction of 
those methods which are best suited to his special 
circumstances, and to what he knows to be the char- 
acter of the children who compose his class. At any 



34 « THE ART OF 

rate, remember that uniform methods have a ten- 
dency to destroy interest, and that prompt attention 
can only be kept up by varying our plans as occasion 
may require. 

Again, it is very desirable that there should be a 
coherence and unity about the lessons of each day. We 
must beware of dissipating the attention of children, 
by leading them too hastily from one subject to an- 
other, or by giving them too many lessons which 
seem to have no mutual connection. 

But one of the main safeguards of attention, after 
all, is to determine that, whatever you teach, you 
will not goon unless you carry the whole class with 
you. Very often we set down in our minds exactly 
what is the area which the lesson is to cover, and how 
much we mean to teach. We then go into the class, 
and find perhaps that we are not getting on so fast 
as we expected. So we push on hastily, in order that 
the plan on which we were determined shall be car- 
ried out. Meanwhile, attention has flagged: stum 
bling-blocks have revealed themselves which we 
have not had time to remove, and we discover at the 
end that only one or two have kept pace with 
us. Now.it is far better 1fo do a little thoroughly 
than to do a great deal superficially and unsoundly. 
"VVe all know that. So it is far better to give half 



SECURING ATTENTION. 35 

our intended lesson, than the whole, if only the halt* 
could be well understood. We do not come to the 
school so much that we may give lessons, as thai the 
children may receive them. Let us determine, there- 
fore, that, however little we teach, the whole of that 
little shall be learned. Let us stop and recapitulate 
very often, especially if the class seems languid and 
indifferent; let us think no time lost which is spent 
in satisfying ourselves that what has been said is un- 
derstood, and that we are making sure of our ground 
as Ave are going on. Let us pause whenever neces- 
sary, and put questions, especially to the least atten- 
tive members of the class. And let us determine at 
every step to secure that the whole of the children 
are advancing with us. It is wonderful to see how 
often really intelligent and valuable teachers seem to 
forget this. They take for granted that what is so 
clear to them, and what is evidently so plain to one 
or two, is therefore communicated to the whole of 
their pupils, whereas they ought to have evidence 
step by step of the fad. 

They should remember that attention once lost is a 
difficult thing to recover, and they should therefore 
be careful not to lose it, I am sure that more of us 
lose attention by going on too fast, and by attempt- 
ing to teach too much, than wc are inclined to be- 



36 TITE AUT OF 

lieve. The best teacher is he who is never afraid of 
the drudgery of repeating, and going back, and ques- 
tioning in many different forms, and who is content 
to move slowly, if only he can make the dullest 
member of the class move with him. Afterall. it is by 
the dull boy that you should measure your own pro 
gress in a lesson-, not by the quick one. Move with 
the worst learner. doI with the best, and then your 
pace with be sure at least, even though it be not very 
rapid. 

And now 1 wish to remind yon of two or three 
things worth remembering about attention. The 
first is. licit it is an act of tin will. It is the one of 
all the mental faculties which is most under our own 
control. We can all lie attentive, or at least more 
attentive than we are. if we Avish to be so. The de- 
gree of attention we pay. therefore, depends on our 
own disposition to attend. This shows us that the 
matter, after all, is very largely one of discipUm . and 
that, all other things being equal, that teacher will 
win most attention who lias most personal influence, 
and who is looked up to with the greatest respect. 
Is there any one of you w hoin the children are accus- 
tomed to treat with dbrespeet ? Do any of you find 
your commands disobeyed, and your. look- of anger 
disregarded? Depend upon it, if this be the case, 



SECTrttlNG ATTENTION. :'>? 

that tlic disposition to attend to your teaching will 
not exist, and that you are sure to have trouble in 
yourclass. Depend upon it, also, that there is some 
thing in your own conduct, or manner, Or character, 
which does not entitle you to be looked up to as you 
ought to be, Ask yourself, in that ease, whether 
your own behavior is uniform and dignified; wheth 
er you ever give commands without seeing that they 
are obeyed; whether you waste your words or your 
influence in an injudicious way; whether there is 
anything in your conduct thai reveals to the children 
a want of punctuality, or of earnestness, or of stead 
iness on your part. For children are very keen ob 
servers of character, and in the long run arc sure to 
feel loyalty and affection for one who is manifestly 
anxious to do them good, and who can be uniformly 
relied on in word and deed. There can lie no thor- 
ough attention unless you accustom yourself to have 
perfect order, and .therefore every step you can take 
to secure better discipline, and to gain more influence 
over the minds of the children, will indirectly tell 
upon the degree of attention you will obtain in 
teaching. 

Nor must we forget that attention is ,i habit, and 
subject to the same laws which regulate all other 
habits. Every act we perform to-day becomes all 



38 THE ART OF 

the easier to perform to-morrow, simply because we 
have performed it to day. And every duty we neg- 
lecl to perform to day becomes harder to perform 
to-morrow, and harder still the next day. Every 
faculty and power we possess is daily becoming 
either stronger or weaker; we cannot standstill, and 
our characters are becoming hardened and stereo 
typed ever\ day, whether we wish or not; hardened. 
too, we must recollect, not according to what we 
think, or to what we wish to be, but according to 
what we do. Therefore, every time we listen lan- 
guidly to an address, or read a book carelessly, the 
habit of inattention becomes strengthened, and it 
becomes less and less possible for us ever to become 
clear thinkers or steady reasoners. On the other 
hand, suppose we determine to make a great effort, 
and resolutely bind down our whole thoughts to a 
subject; the next time we wish to do the same thing, 
the effort required will be less painful, the third time 
less painful still, until at length the habit of atten 
tion will grow on us, and will become easy and 
pleasanl to us. What is the practical inference to 
he drawn from these simple truths ? Why, that in 
all we do in schools, the habit of strict attention to 
rules should he cultivated, in little things .-is well as 
in great, [f a boy is allowed to be unpunctual, to 



SECURING ATTENTION. 39 

miscall words without being compelled to go back 
and correct himself, to read how he likes, to answer 
when he likes, to sit down when he is told to stand, 
to repeat tasks inaccurately, and to give a half- 
hearted attention to the minor rules of the school, of 
course he will give half-hearted attention to the 
teaching. It would he wonderful if he did not. 
The habit of inattention is strengthened in little 
things, and necessarily show's itself in great. Do 
not, therefore, think lightly of the minor acts by 
winch obedience, and promptitude, and close watch- 
fulness can be cultivated. Sec that these minor acts 
arc done well, and you will find that in this way the 
habit of listening attentively to your leaching will 
be confirmed. 

And, besides this, it is necessary to recollect that 
teachers have a great deal to do with the formation 
of the intellectual habits which will cling to their 
pupils for the rest of their lives. Of course, apart 
from the primary and immediate object of imparting 
instruction, we ought all to feel some interest in the 
sort of mental character which our little scholars are 
acquiring during their intercourse with us. We 
must look forward to the time when the children 
will be men and women, and consider what sort of 
men and women we would have them to be. We 



40 THE AllT OF 

cannot help desiring that when hereafter they read a 
book, they shall read seriously; that when they hear 
a sermon they shall not bring preoccupied or wan- 
dering minds to what they hear; that as they move 
along in life they shall not be unobservant triners, 
gazing in helpless vacancy on the mere surface of 
things, but shall be able to fix their eyes and their 
hearts steadily on all the sources of instruction 
which may be open to them. If they are ever to do 
this, it is necessary that they should have acquired 
in youth the power of concentrating their attention. 
This power is the one qualification which so often 
constitutes the main difference between the wise and 
the foolish, the:. successful and the unsuccessful man. 
Attention is the one habit of the human mind which, 
perhaps more than any other, forms a safeguard for 
intellectual progress, and even, under the divine 
blessing, for moral purity. Now, every time a child 
comes into your ela^s, this habil is either strength 
ened or weakened. Something is sure to be done, 
while the children are with you,, either to make them 
better or worse in this respect lor the whole of their 
future lives. If you claim and secure perfect obedi- 
ence; if. without being severe, you can he stricl 
enough to enforce diligent attention to all you say, 
you are attaining another important end beside t li.it 



SECURING ATTENTION. 41 

which is usually contemplated, for you are develop- 
ing the intellectual vigor of your scholar, and famil- 
iarizing him with a sort of effort which will be of 
immense use to him hereafter. But every time you 
permit disorder, trifling, or wandering, you are help- 
ing to lower and vitiate the mental character of your 
pupils. You are encouraging them in a bad habit. 
You are, in fact, doing something to prevent them 
from ever becoming thoughtful readers, diligent ob- 
servers, and earnest listeners, as long as they live. 

We are, I hope, brought by these reflections with- 
in sight of the one great rule on which not merely 
all attention, but all true success in teaching depends. 
Try to feel with the children, to understand theirna- 
tures, and to discern what is going on in their minds. 
Do not half the faults of our teaching arise from a 
want of thorough acquaintance with the little ones, 
and a want of true insight into their mental and 
moral nature ? Does not this lie at the root of much 
of the inattention of which we complain ? The 
truth is, that a good teacher ought not only to pos- 
sess that sympathy which makes him feel for a 
child, and love him. and try to do him good ; but 
the sympathy which feels with him, which makes 
due allowance for his imperfectly developed nature, 
and which thoroughly comprehends his character 



42 THE ART OF 

and wants. Some of you who hear me are young 
teachers, and it is not so long ago that you were 
learners. Perhaps you have not forgotten how you 
felt then, and what sort of things interested and 
affected you; how knowledge looked when it was 
first presented to your view, and what was the kind 
of teaching which best secured an entrance for that 
knowledge into the recesses of your minds. If you 
have nearly forgotten these things, strive with all 
your might to recall them. As you grow in knowl- 
edge, in thoughtfulness and experience, take diligent 
care not to lose the remembrance of what you were 
years ago. He is always the wisest teacher who can 
combine the man's intellect and the child's heart; 
who contrives to keep fresh in his memory the 
knowledge of what he once was, and what a child's 
wants, and a child's likes and dislikes, and a child's 
infirmities really are. We are sometimes so glad to 
find ourselves men, that we take a pleasure in casting 
off the traditions, and the habits, and the thoughts 
of childhood. But a really earnest and loving 
teacher will esteem every recollection very preen mis 
which helps him better to understand the nature of 
the being on whose heart he is going to work ; he 
will be very careful not to set up a man's standard 
to measure a child by; he will always ask himself, 



SECURING ATTENTION. 43 

when preparing or giving- a lesson, not. "What will 
it seem proper for me to say'?" but, "What is the 
thing best adapted for these children to hear ?" lie 
will cultivate an intimate acquaintance with child- 
hood, and all its little whims and follies. He will 
ask God daily to enlarge his own heart, and to make 
him sympathize with every form of childish weak- 
ness, except sin; and he will lay to heart the secret 
meaning of the solemn warning which our Saviour 
addressed to his disciples : "Take heed that ye de- 
spise not one of these little ones.'' I think that such 
a teacher will not want any one to give him rules for 
sustaining the interest of his class, because he will 
have got hold of the principle which w 11 enable him 
to devise rules for himself. Such a teacher will lie 
sure to win attention, and when he has won it will 
be likely to keep it. 



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